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Southern Nazarene (13-11, 11-7 GAC) at SWOSU (16-8, 13-5 GAC) Tuesday, February 25, 7:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes

Setting the Stage
      The SWOSU men's basketball team heads into the final week of the regular season tied for the Great American Conference lead, but the path to a conference championship still has two obstacles ahead. The Bulldogs first challenge of the week comes on Tuesday when Southern Nazarene visits the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for Senior Night.
      Three seniors will be playing their final home game for the Bulldogs when Ante Bozic, Michael Bradley and Rod Camphor suit up on Tuesday. All three have played the last two seasons at SWOSU after transferring from junior colleges.
 
The Coaches
      Bob Battisti is the 14th head men's basketball coach in SWOSU history and in his first season on the Bulldogs sidelines. He most recently spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian University where he helped the program its first postseason basketball title in 30 years. Prior to his stint at OCU, Battisti spent 25 years at Northwestern Oklahoma State, coaching the men's basketball team for 21 seasons before taking over as the school's athletic director for four years. In more than 24 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 425-304.
      Adam Bohac is in his sixth season at the helm of the Crimson Storm men's basketball program and he's guided SNU through the transition to NCAA Division II and the Great American Conference. He has led the Storm to three NAIA National Tournaments and owns a record of 124-62, becoming the fastest coach in school history to reach 100 wins last season.
 
Last Time Out
      The SWOSU men's basketball team gutted out their fourth straight victory on Saturday afternoon, holding on to defeat Ouachita Baptist 67-63 at Bill Vining Arena in Arkadelphia.
      The game was tied eight different times in the first half as the Tigers and Bulldogs went to the break tied at 36-36 after OBU finished the half on an 8-0 run. SWOSU grabbed the lead early in the second half and held it for the majority of the half.
      Kenyan Borders made one of the biggest plays of the game with just over seven minutes to play as he grabbed an offensive rebound off a Rod Camphor missed 3-pointer that appeared to be setting up a run out for Ouachita Baptist. Instead, Borders grabbed the board away from two defenders and hit a step-back 3-pointer to push the Bulldogs lead out to seven at 54-47.
      Rod Camphor scored on the next possession to put SWOSU up eight, but Ouachita Baptist slowly began cutting into the lead heading into the final minutes. Micah Delph hit a 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining to get OBU within one of the Bulldogs, 63-62, before Camphor split on four free throws to give SWOSU a 65-62 lead in the final seconds.
      OBU had attempts in the final minute to tie or take the lead, but SWOSU held on and Michael Bradley hit the final two free throws with under two seconds to play, putting the game away at 67-63.
      Camphor paced the Bulldogs with 21 points after knocking down 4-of-8 3-pointers and 7-of-9 free throws. He was joined in double figures by Michael Bradley, who anchored SWOSU's offense from the post during most of the second half. Bradley scored 14 points, knocking down 8-of-14 free throws, and grabbed six rebounds for the Dawgs. Trent Washington also chipped in 13 points for SWOSU.
 
Last Time vs. Southern Nazarene (January 23, 2014)
      For the second straight game, the SWOSU men's basketball team overcame a large first-half deficit and continued their winning streak, which has now reached six games following an 83-77 victory over Southern Nazarene on Thursday evening.
      Southern Nazarene took a 15-point lead early, going on top of the Bulldogs 23-8 with 11:34 to play in the first half on a three-pointer by CJ Smith, the Great American Conference's leading scorer. SWOSU managed to get the deficit within 10 at the break as they trailed SNU 45-36 after the opening half.
      The Bulldogs outscored SNU 13-4 over the first 6:33 of the second half, tying the game at 49-49 on a pair of free throws by Gary Inglett. SNU weathered that storm and held on to the lead until the Rod Camphor got out on a fast break for a lay-in that gave SWOSU a 62-61 advantage, their first of the game.
      Kenyan Borders hit a pair of big three-point baskets down the stretch, including one that gave SWOSU a 70-68 lead, and Inglett and Trent Washington scored back-to-back baskets to break a 70-70 tie and give SWOSU the lead for good as the game went under the four-minute mark.
      Camphor – who left the game briefly in the first half due to injury – returned on a mission, tying his season-high with 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Inglett notched his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Washington came off the bench to score 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting and Borders continued his steady play at the point, scoring 14 points and dishing out six assists without committing a turnover.
 
Checking the Standings
      Arkansas Tech defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State on Monday night to bring them tied with SWOSU for the top spot in the conference standings with two games to play. East Central and Southern Nazarene are both still alive in the conference race, two games behind SWOSU and Arkansas Tech at 11-7. The Bulldogs play SNU and at Northwestern Oklahoma State this week while the Wonder Boys are on the road against Harding at East Central later this week.
 
Scouting the Opponent
      Southern Nazarene had won five consecutive games prior to a 74-67 defeat on Saturday night at Southeastern Oklahoma State. Their win streak allowed them to climb toward the top of the Great American Conference standings, where they currently sit in a tie with East Central for third place at 11-7.
      The Crimson Storm are the third-leading scoring team in the conference, putting up 76.2 points per game while shooting 36.2% from 3-point range, the third-best mark in the GAC. Strong guard play drives SNU, whose duo of CJ Smith and Quan Conner are both among the top five scorers in the GAC. Smith leads the conference in scoring with an average of 21.6 points per game while Conner is fifth with 16.8 points per game.
      SNU is allowing their opponents to score 73.9 points per game but they are one of the best at defending the 3-point line, holding opponents to 32.8% shooting from long range. The Crimson Storm also rank second in the GAC in steals with an average of 7.6 per game.
 
Quick Hits
- Rod Camphor averaged 20.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in two road wins last weekend, upping his scoring average to 17.5 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the GAC
- Gary Inglett was held to nine points against Ouachita Baptist, his first time scoring fewer than 10 points in the last 11 games
- SWOSU's streak of five straight games with less than 10 turnovers was snapped on Saturday when they committed 10 turnovers against Ouachita Baptist
- Michael Bradley is averaging 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over the last three games
 
Looking Ahead
      The regular season culminates on Thursday when the Bulldogs head north to rival Northwestern Oklahoma State for a 7:30 pm tipoff in Alva.